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Mindful of the voters' message, Craxi is intent on introducing innovation and some basic changes. He has proposed to name two Vice Premiers, one probably a Christian Democrat, the other a Republican, possibly the popular Giovanni Spadolini, who presided over a five-party center-left coalition last year as the only previous non-Christian Democratic Prime Minister. For Craxi such a collegial arrangement would have a special advantage: two other parties would get to share the onus of an inevitable economic austerity program. The Socialist leader has also suggested the establishment of an efficient super-Cabinet, its membership restricted to Vice Premiers and key ministers.
To make Parliament more governable, Craxi would like to reduce the number of Italy's two dozen splinter parties. To do so, he supports an institutional reform movement that among other things may try to imitate West Germany's requirement that parties attract a minimum of 5% of the vote to be eligible for seats. He may also propose the abolition of the secret ballot in Parliament, which has allowed deputies to block government measures in response to pressure from special-interest groups. If Craxi can push through some of these measures, his government could be the first to prove itself strong enough to administer the bitter economic medicine that the nation has needed for so long.
Inflation continues at 16%, vs. 9% in France, 3% in West Germany and the U.S. Fueling the steady price rises is a mountainous budget deficit approaching 17% of the gross national product (vs. 5% in the U.S., 8.7% in West Germany). Successive governments have continued to bankroll a noncompetitive state-owned industrial complex and an inefficient welfare system.
Craxi has found general agreement on the need to curb inflation and trim the deficit. The trouble is that the five parties disagree on how to reach these goals. Some Socialists favor a six-month wage and price freeze similar to the one imposed by President François Mitterrand's Socialist government in France. The Christian Democrats and Liberals prefer draconian slashes in public spending similar to those imposed by Britain's Margaret Thatcher.
In hammering out a foreign policy, Craxi's most immediate problem comes from his own party's left wing. Craxi supports NATO'S plan to install 112 U.S. cruise missiles near Comiso, Sicily, at the end of this year if the Geneva arms negotiations produce no U.S.-Soviet agreement on intermediate-range missiles in Europe. Although his prospective coalition partners agree with that view, the Socialist left wing and the Communists oppose the deployment.
In fact, among the Christian Democrats who so readily agreed to Craxi's nomination are some who would like to make him a target for the anger that is sure to boil up over the missile issue and economic austerity. If Craxi fails, they calculate, the prime ministership will return to the Christian Democrats, or there will be new elections, this time without Craxi to worry about. In view of such risks, Craxi was asked recently why he was so eager to lead an Italian government. He answered by recalling Napoleon's observation that "every soldier has a marshal's baton in his knapsack." Craxi has the baton now, but he still lacks a powerful army.
—By Frederick Painton.